Wackiest MLB trade stories in league history: 12. Same exact player
It was a case of deja vu. As previously mentioned in our last post, John McDonald was also shipped out for what turned out to be himself.
In 2005, the Toronto Blue Jays shortstop was having a terrific year. Although he wasn’t much of a home run hitter, registering 0 through 37 games, his overall numbers made plenty of teams value his contributions to winning. At the time, he batted .290, his on base percentage was the second best of his career with .340 and he drove in 16 runs.
The Detroit Tigers liked what they saw and immediately made the move to acquire him. In return, the franchise ensured the Blue Jays that they would ship out a player to be named later in return.
Once McDonald landed in his new home, everything went downhill. He continued to struggle with the long ball, registering 0 through 31 games. His overall numbers also cratered. His batting average fell from .290 with the Blue Jays to .260. His on base percentage also fell to .308. The Tigers would finish fourth in the AL Central with a record of 71-91.
With a decent sample size to take a look at, the Tigers were not impressed and shipped him back to where he came at the end of the year.